This invention relates generally to wireless control of electronic equipment and, more particularly, relates to a hand held remote control and pointer device capable of controlling the operation of an electronic component which may include the movement of a cursor displayed on a display screen of an electronic component such as a personal computer, a television receiver, or the like.
In the art, various systems for providing wireless control of electronic equipment have been proposed. An example of one such system may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,745,402 and 4,796,019 to Auerbach. These patents both disclose a system using a remote control transmitter having the capability for controlling the movement of a cursor displayed on a display screen of an electronic device as well as the capability for controlling the operation of the device itself. The control of the cursor is disclosed to be a function of a perceived change in the angular position of the remote control while the control of the electronic device is disclosed to be a function of transmitted, dedicated, function data. More particularly, the angular position information is described as being a function of the phase angle and amplitude of the resultant of the combined signals transmitted from the energized LEDs of the remote control.
A further example of a wireless control and pointing system may be found in co-pending U.S. patent Ser. No. 08/605,546 entitled "System For Providing Wireless Pointer Control" filed on Feb. 26, 1996 in the name of Marcus Escobosa and assigned to the assignee of the subject invention. The '546 application discloses a system including a remote control pointer device capable of generating a signal having multiple signal components with different frequencies and a base station capable of receiving and decoding the signal. The base station interprets the multiple signal components to determine the orientation of the remote control pointer device to properly generate a pointer control signal for properly selecting a particular piece of equipment to receive remote commands or data, and where appropriate, properly displaying and positioning a cursor displayed on the electronic equipment. To assist in an understanding of the subject invention, the full disclosure found in the '546 patent application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
While the wireless command and pointing systems described above provide a means for controlling the operation of an electric appliance in conjunction with the ability to control the movement of a cursor displayed on a display screen, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved wireless command and pointer system having the capability to control the operation of an electric appliance in conjunction with the ability to control the movement of a cursor with a relatively higher degree of precision than found in the prior art. It is further object of the present invention to provide a wireless pointer capable of preventing a cursor from being vibrated due to unintentional movement of the hand of an operator. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a wireless pointer system in which frequency interference resulting from electrical lighting is minimized. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a wireless pointer in which a lens allows for the transmission of an improved radiation pattern.